Memories of Glass
by Omoikaneavitar
Summary: The crystal knight, the defender of the people, has vanished! Now his brother has taken the passed mantle of the town's caravan, to search for Myrrh... and to find his brother.


I, being a lowly Fan Fiction writer, own nothing in this story, but the mere pawns I have created for my writing enjoyment. I do not own Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles.

Memories of Glass

Chapter 1: The Successor of the Caravan

Have you heard the tale? The tale of the great Crystal Knight? They say he was a Clavat, equipped with weapons and armor thought only in rumor and legend; At his right, the sword of destruction, Ragnarok, his left, the spirit of haste, the Chocobo Shield, adorning his chest the fabled Gaia Plate. He set out to conquer the very core of miasma, leaving the town's caravan in another's hands, leaving with a shard of the very crystal of his town. And with the blessings of his town he left, to fight off the cursed plague. Years pasted by, and he was never heard of again. What happened to this bold knight? Did he reach his goal? Is he still alive? This is another story, for I another to spin, of his brother who took up his charge, in search for myrrh… and him.

IiI/

Chris tossed around in his bed as the sun slowly rose. He had not gained any sleep from his worrying last night, seeing as today was the day he would lead the town's Caravan. He sighed got up to stare out the window. Already Tipa was beginning to wake up. He could see the other Clavat family in the town get up as they began their work in the fields they tended. Uninterested, he shifted is gaze to his brother's bandana he had left behind. '_It's already been a year, hasn't it Adam?_' Chris said examining the things his brother had left behind when he last visited. The whole scene played in the back of his mind as he stared at the gifts…

The scene was at the annual Caravan welcoming home party. Roland, the town elder, had just released the chalice's myrrh into the great crystal in the middle of the town, and it began to glow. But Chris was in awe by his brother. While many of the other villagers had decided to dance around the crystal as was the ritual, he sat on a rock away from the party, starring at them with a dark look in his eyes, and a grim report on his face. "Why are you sitting over here Adam? Why don't you join the dance?" Chris said breaking away from the others to join his older brother.

"I'm thinking." The older brother said calmly. Chris understood what this statement meant coming from his brother. It had always been another way for him to say, "Leave me alone," Or "Go Away." Chris stood frozen. At 27, with 12 years of his life dedicated to the caravan, he looked apposing in the fire light with his scars, so the younger brother complied and began to saunter back to the party. "Wait a minute." Adam's voice commanded. Chris turned sharply towards his brother; confusion set his expression of choice at the moment.

"Yes Adam?" Chris said as the older brother stared at the fire, deep in thought. He completed his thought, and began to untie his lucky headband. "What are you doing?"

"Chris, I'm going away for a while, a lot longer than a year I'd wager." Adam said, looking at the headband in his hands. "I'm going on a quest. One more personal than the Caravan, and I want you to lead the next one." The brother said, offering the strip of cloth towards Chris, he merely stared at it in disbelief.

"What are you talking about? You can't quit the Caravan! The whole town would die!" The younger one said in a hushed and hurried voice so the others wouldn't hear them.

"That's why I'm giving you my bandana, so that you can lead the one that goes out next year!" Adam said, forcing the bandana closer to his brother.

"Why though!" Chris exclaimed loudly, slapping the bandana away. The townsfolk stopped dead, and the music halted abruptly.

"Chris," Adam said, getting up to pick up the bandana, "I need you to do this for me. I can't say what I'll be doing, but please understand it's for good reason. You're the only person I can trust with leading the next caravan, and if I succeed…" The older brother clenched the bandana tightly. "There won't be a need for caravans anymore."

IiI/

'_Of course I caved after that.' _Chris thought as he picked up the bandana gingerly. _'That damn speech too.' _He said remembering the speech his brother gave to the whole town, explaining that he was going on a quest that was personal, and that he had just entrusted the caravan with Chris. He capped it off by taking his sword and chipping a piece of the town's crystal into is palm. Thanking Roland, he picked up a pack he had set up and left town. The whole town was stunned by Adam's bold moves. _'Always a showoff.' _Chris picked up the second gift he was given, besides the bandana, which was a large leather bound book that told of Adam's daring exploits in the last 12 years. When Adam had left, leaving it behind, Chris had begun to read the small tome. None of it interested him, as most of the writing was of how brave Adam was for defeating this or that.

"Chris! Breakfast!" Chris snapped back to attention as his mother called him.

"I'm coming!" Chris retorted, putting on simple clothes and heading downstairs. The night previous he had set out all of his things as something to do, not so much out of anticipation. He, in fact, dreaded having to go on the adventure the Caravan had promised, but couldn't peg a single reason down to explain it. A sweet scent wafted towards his nostrils as he entered the kitchen part of the house. Already his father, the town Miller, was up and eating the hearty breakfast that his mother had prepared in honor of the occasion. Not being one to hate food what ever the occasion, Chris happily sat down and dug in.

"So today's the day eh son?" His father said, beaming in pride. "Can't believe it! First Adam an' now Chris! Both my sons have become Caravanners! I couldn't be more proud of you son!" Ben punctuated his joy by slapping his hand onto Chris' back, causing him to shudder.

"Oh leave the boy alone Ben." Anna said pilling more food onto her son's plate, the recipient looked at the food with a grimace. "He need to eat so he has energy for the road! Now eat up!" She said smiling.

"Actually, I have to get going; Mr. Roland said that he wanted to see me at around… 5 minutes ago!" Chris exclaimed glancing at the clock, jumping up quickly and rushing up into his room to change, running full speed down the stairs, nearly killing his sister, then rushing out the door, equipped with his traveling clothes, waving goodbye to his family. '_Damnit! I'm going to be-'_

"You're late Chris…" Roland said as Chris ran up to the town crystal, gasping for breath.

"I'm sorry sir, my mother had me eating a lot, and I lost track of time, but I usually don't do something like this, I'm very prompt and-"

"Oh spare him Chris; we all know you're always late." Chris spun towards the source of the voice to his right. Lined up were a few others about his age. There was Calvan, the Alchemist's son. He was a male Yuke, which towered over everyone in the group. His helmet resembled that of a bird's, in that it had a long beak that came to a point. Chris and him were close friends, and had grown up together in Tipa. His older brother and Adam were both in the caravan, but Calvan's brother decided to stay in Shella to further his research in Alchemy. He waved in greeting towards Chris and chuckled, muffled by his helmet. To the right of the towering Yuke was the smallest of the four, the Blacksmith's son, a Lility named Daemon. Daemon wore what could easily be described as a bucket over his head. He clutched at his side his trusty spear. Chris couldn't remember a time when he hadn't had it. He only knew Daemon by name; he didn't hang out with him often.

Looking very mysterious by leaning against a tree was An Letta, A Selkie, and daughter of the fisherman Zeh Gatt. She was just…sexy. She knew it by the way she flaunted her… assets. Chris always had a crush on her, but was of course too shy. The last in the group was the Farmer's daughter, Carroll, and the source of the voice. She had long brown hair and brown eyes, a very plain and down to earth girl. Chris and Carroll went way back; their families moved into the town at the same time, and considered her his best friend.

"Well since you're all here," Roland drawled as the teenagers assembled, "I would like to go over once again the details for this year's caravan." The old man said clearing his throat. "Calvan, Daemon, An Letta, and Carroll, I have called you here today because I have decided that it would be wise not to allow Chris to go on his own for at least the first year. So I would like to offer you all the chance to join the Caravan as it leaves today." The others were shocked by the invitation; however Chris was glad he wasn't going on his own. The old man cleared his throat.

"Since Adam preferred to work alone, and no one was of age to join him, he went alone for most of his travels for Myrrh; however, this was after being in a caravan for more than a few years." Roland said looking across everyone's faces.

"And since Chris is not experienced enough to hold his own alone for now, I thought it wise to offer others a chance to join in. Of course I do not mean to intend that the journey will be a picnic, quite the contrary. Each challenge you face will be more difficult than the last, and the only reward is the sense of danger and adventure as you return home from each journey. But before I go into more details…" Roland flipped open the book he held. Chris, from his angle, could notice the page he had turned to held his name, the title being 'Caravan members.' Chris gulped and prayed that more would join in. A long silence gripped the group tightly. Calvan raised his hand.

"I'm in, I see this as an opportunity to further my research on the outside world, and to get the hell out of this place." The Yuke muffled, chuckling slightly at his statement and joining alongside Roland and Chris.

"Me two." The Lility stated, stepping forward. "Practice mannequins can only get you so far, and you'll need some strength on the road ahead." The Lility growled, and stood in line with the old man, giant, and bewildered 'hero'.

"I could use the excitement…" An Letta said, flicking her blond hair and smiling roguishly. "Who knows? It may be a little fun." With that she sauntered towards the group making it a point to wink at Chris, causing him to blush extremely.

"I'm coming too then!" Carroll shouted and ran in line between An Letta and Chris. The small company stared blankly at her, Calvan trying to stop from laughing at Carroll's blunder. "I mean… to protect Chris of course!" She said, patting Chris on the shoulder blushing in embarrassment.

"Protect him from what?" Calvan said, kneeling down to elbow Daemon suggestively, both of them laughing as both Chris and Carroll blushed. Roland chuckled and his mustache distorted as he smiled.

IiI/

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A/N: This is the first chapter; please review even if you didn't think it was anything special. Just nice to know someone's out there. ;; (Oh yeah- I'm always a fan of short first chapters, so if this one's a liltle too short for you, just wait until I get the next one up, besides, short chapters are good 'cause they go up faster and are less overwhelming) 


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